Shop projects based on community problems

Front matter

SHOP PROJECTS

BASED ON

COMMUNITY PROBLEMS

Preface

MODERN educators have come to realize that the only avenue of approach to the child's mind is through the light of his experience, therefore recent text-books are being so arranged as to utilize the things with which the child comes in contact outside of school as well as in the classroom in guiding him into new fields of knowledge.

Under the old school the plan of the text-book was to arrange the subject-matter in a logical and scientific way, giving but little consideration to the immediate interest of the child, or to the natural steps of his development. This so-called logical arrangement placed the paramount consideration on a skillful organization of the great store of racial subject-matter, and was no doubt quite satisfactory to the learned scholar or the mature mind provided with a broad field of experience.

A more vital consideration of the natural unfolding of the child's mind has created a great interest in what has been called the "psychological" arrangement of subject-matter. The psychological order of presentation means that the subject-matter is to be constantly handled and shaped in accordance with the developing thought of the child. This thought of course cannot be identical in any two children, due to their unequal ability and unlike experiences. This psychological plan of presentation, followed to the extreme, may result in random thought with but little central idea, thus following no particular channel, and consequently failing to arrive at any definite goal.

Ironclad advocates of the old school of logical thinking (fortunately but few of them are left at present) maintain that but little consideration should be given to the individual student, but that the mathematically correct and absolutely sequential logic of the subject should be the master in prescribing the order of procedure in all school tasks.

On the other hand, over-enthusiastic champions of the psychological doctrine are too prone to ignore the logical side entirely and allow their efforts to be wasted in rambling, and thus really give their students absolute command of nothing which will function in future adjustments.

These two extremes are the paths which lie open to any author when he undertakes the preparation of a text-book. While the logical arrangement has been almost slavishly followed in some of the old line subjects, it has asserted itself only to a very limited extent in the newer industrial lines. There have, however, been a few attempts at text-books and courses of study which have required students to follow a prescribed course in an absolute way, thus leaving no opportunity for the development of individual tastes, initiative and self-reliance. By far the greater risk, however, has been in the opposite extreme. Since there have been no definite standards nor prescribed courses by which industrial efforts can be measured, many teachers have neglected to check up their work with sufficient rigor. On account of the newness of handwork as a public school undertaking, there are as yet a great many difficulties to be confronted in following the natural development of the child and thus prescribing projects which will set forth the very best training for his particular case. Much of the indefinite, inaccurate, slipshod sort of work which is being done under the name of Manual Training apologizes for its existence by claiming that it is following the psychological trend.

Superintendents who have been accustomed to maintaining a high ideal of excellence in all their work have been not a little annoyed by the chaotic unmeasurable results in their industrial classes, but they have been told by the experts along the theoretical side of the work that the child should be allowed to unfold in his own way. Then when the class has been intrusted to an inexperienced, perhaps meagerly trained teacher, the superintendent sees that the fine theory of the psychological expert brings about intangible standards and indefinite results in the hands of the less capable teacher.

If handwork is to be made a real school problem, and is to have its highest educational value, it certainly must conform to the same rules of pedagogy which govern the other subjects. The mind does not undergo any transformation because the child happens to be in the shop or to have a saw or hammer in his hand.

In the preparation of this text, which is based upon many years of personal instruction and observation of all types of schools in several states, the effort has been to find a sane medium between the logical and psychological methods of presentation. Those who are familiar with the subject are well aware that there is a science in mechanics and a correct way to execute the most common and universal tool processes, and that there are fundamental principles as well defined as the principles of mathematics or the sciences. These mechanical processes and principles represent the best of the experiences of ages gone by, and if the learner expects to develop with economy of time and effort, he should profit by the racial experience and acquaint himself with the very best ways which time has demonstrated for carrying out the universal processes and principles.

On the other hand the experience of the child must be studied and respected. His apperceptive powers constitute the only means by which we can be hopeful of his interpreting his surroundings. With this idea in mind this text has been designed to deal with the logical principles in a psychological way. Paradoxical as this may seem at first glance, a careful investigation of the text will reveal the fact that every project gives an opportunity for the presentation of mechanical principles to be employed in the making of a project which will appeal directly to the child's interest. Unlimited opportunity is offered for the development of the child's original taste and initiative in such portions of the projects as will permit of modification without violation of the principles.

In order to meet this widely varying condition of mind, in every section of the text a very extensive list of projects has been presented and kindred ones suggested, thus making it possible to claim the interest and attention of students of either city or country environment, and also care for the needs of those who are urging the making of practical things.

The preparation of this text was undertaken only after many years of teaching experience, and innumerable conferences with industrial instructors and other educators in various parts of the country.

As the text is submitted to the verdict of his fellow teachers, it is the sincere hope of the author that it will find a place where it may offer its share of real and tangible assistance to every conscientious influence which is earnestly endeavoring to give to our youth a form of education which will fit them for lives of useful service.

COMMUNITY PROBLEMS

GREAT captains of industry, professional men and those who are giving their attention to various practical lines have recently raised a great criticism on the public schools because, as they claim, the things taught in school fail to empower the students to meet the demands of business life. Even our strongest advocates of the cultural doctrine are ready to admit that these criticisms are not entirely without foundation. Modern educators are beginning to see that too many of our school problems have no vital connection nor practical application in community life, so in recent years there has been a great wave of enthusiasm sweeping over the country for a more utilitarian policy in our public schools. Rather than concoct mathematical conundrums or enigmas cf language, which serve only as mental gymnastics in the classroom, it is just as cultural and far more economic to take some of the great problems of the community and, through typical projects, teach the students how to investigate and find a solution to the things which they will soon be called upon to control.

As soon as a student leaves school he ceases to make problems for the sake of keeping himself busy in their solution. The process is now reversed and he is not only brought face to face with readymade problems calling upon him for a solution, but is surrounded beyond escape by a class of community problems which demand the full exercise of his capabilities. An unsuccessful meeting of these community problems and an incorrect solution may mean his loss of social standing, professional failure, financial reverse, moral disgrace, or possibly absolute extermination.

The fact that all students, regardless of ability and condition, will, in a very few years, be compelled to undergo this adjustment, makes it unnecessary to make any argument to show why community problems should constitute a vital portion of the school curriculum.

The industrial work through its Manual Training, Agriculture, Home Economics and other practical lines, offers a most excellent opportunity of employing the students' natural interest and the inherent disposition toward activity in working out projects which are typical of the great community problems. For illustration: the great problem of sanitation is demanding universal attention and no one could claim a liberal education without understanding the theories, and being able to follow the modern rules of sanitary living. The theory of sanitation may be taught in an old line physiology class, but it can be made to function not only in methods of thinking, but in the formation of habits of action, in the class of Home Economics.

The community demands that a boy be taught proper care and respect for neat and orderly arrangement in his home life. An unlimited amount of advice on this subject may avail but little. However, if the boy is given the experience of making some of the practical things, such as coathanger, broomholder or other equipment required to carry out these theories, he is practically sure to have the ideas everlastingly instilled into his nature.

A perusal of statistics showing how rapidly civilization is becoming centralized in our cities makes it necessary for the community to concern itself with the problem of showing in an effective way how the boy may become interested and profit by remaining on the farm. No amount of theory or poetry regarding "lowing herds," "sighing boughs" and "sweet-perfumed meadows" will prove effective in the solution of this problem unless the boys are taught how to approach the subject of agriculture and make it pleasant as well as profitable. This sort of interest can be inculcated only by the early experience in doing realities in agriculture and agricultural mechanics. The boy who makes and uses a seed corn tester will have a better comprehension of seed testing than a boy who merely reads of the value of seed selection.

Throughout this text the prevailing idea is to present only such projects as may be made typical of some community problems which are worth while. To be sure there are certain projects which in themselves are designed particularly to appeal to boyish tastes (the kite, for example), yet this project is replete with possibilities for the study of the great modern subject of air-craft, and by studying some of the references following the introductory statement an unlimited interest can be aroused.

The introductory statement at the opening of each lesson is intended to give some conception of the community problem from which the project is taken. It is not the intention to take up these various discussions in such a way as to give the child a complete comprehension of the great value of the community problem, but merely to introduce the idea and offer a few references for outside reading which the teacher may use as his time and inclination may dictate.

There is being much said these days about the idea of correlating the industrial work with the particular activities of local interest. This is sometimes misunderstood by the inexperienced, who think that in a community where a certain occupation prevails this occupation should be taught to the exclusion of all others. There can be no greater mistake than this, if our grammar grade students are to have a well-rounded education. It may even be said that the fact that a certain occupation prevails may be argument for its receiving less attention in the school, for the students will no doubt get an opportunity to come in contact with what it has to offer without much school assistance. Of course in purely vocational work the opposite view of this question might prevail, but in these days of a constantly shifting population we must not think that every boy who lives within the shadow of a blacksmith shop is destined to become a blacksmith.

The greatest obligation of the school is to give to each student such training as will enable him to find his proper place in his environment, and throughout this text it has been the design to draw a sufficient number of typical projects from the community interest to appeal to the widely varying inclinations and tastes of individual students and at the same time to guide them sufficiently so that their time will not be wasted in aimless effort.

SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS

THE following suggestions to teachers are intended to give a broad conception of the underlying principles upon which this text is founded, and to offer means by which it can be made most effective in the hands of the students. It is not the intention to curtail the possibilities, nor any of the originality or initiative of the teacher, but rather to relieve him as much as possible of the drudgery and minor detail which falls to the lot of one who must be a constant source of information and advice to his classes.

In practically all other school subjects the teacher has the advantage of placing in the hands of his students some sort of literature from which they may gather the essential facts of the subject-matter. In proper justice to the industrial instructors, as well as to the students, these classes should be provided with some means by which they may gather pertinent information and direct these activities by their own powers of research. This will conserve the teacher's time and energy, allowing it to be devoted to the more important function of studying the case of each individual student, and then prescribing work suitable to serve his need.

This book is arbitrarily divided into six sections and each section presents ten projects in detail and offers suggestions for three or four times as many more. It is not the idea that any one student should be required to make every project in each section, but rather to set forth an abundance of work from which the teacher may direct the choice of the student after considering his personal taste and individual needs. But little attempt is made to grade the projects of each section and present them in the order of the sequence of processes, but rather to offer a series of projects which present kindred principles or which offer an opportunity of appealing to the varying tastes of the students. The sections, however, are sequential from the standpoint of difficulty. When a student has completed one project, by careful consideration of the finished product and the capability of the student, the teacher should advise him regarding what project he is next to undertake. In making this selection the wishes of the student should have careful consideration and also the selection should be made in such a way as to give him further training on the particular processes which he did not do satisfactorily in his last lesson. For illustration: if in making the matchbox the student has not shown sufficient ability in the use of the coping saw or in planing parallel edges, he might be given the whiskbroom holder for his second lesson and be encouraged to undertake a design which would reemploy these principles.

It will be observed that in each section there are offered projects of such a nature as to appeal to the interest of any boy, whether of the city or of the country. There are also projects of purely boyish interest from the standpoint of amusement, as well as some things which will be of value to him in his room.

The introduction to each section should be carefully perused so the instructor may have a fairly clear idea of what it embodies. He should also acquaint himself with the processes involved in each project before allowing a student to begin it. A student who has not sufficiently mastered the work of one section should not be allowed to pass to the next, but should be given further work either from the regular lessons set forth or from the "suggestions employing similar principles" until he has proven his capability of undertaking the more advanced section. It is not absolutely necessary that all the students of the class be working on projects from the same section at the same time; in fact, too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the matter of giving to each student the work best adapted to his personal development regardless of what the other members of the class may be doing at that time.

On the opening page of each lesson is given a halftone illustration to enable the student to visualize the essential points of the thing which he is about to make. The illustrations will also be found valuable in guiding the students and the teacher in making selection of lessons to be undertaken. The bill of material is given in detail on the same page with the cut, so that as the student thinks of each piece on the bill he may glance at the illustration and thus see its exact application in the finished product. This does not necessarily mean that the stock must be furnished to the student in the number and dimension of pieces given in the bill. It may sometimes be convenient and desirable to furnish the stock in bulk, from which the student is to cut the necessary bill. No definite instructions can be given on this point because of the widely varying conditions in different schools.

The kind of wood suggested for each lesson is not necessarily the only kind which is suitable, but in most of the projects considerable latitude is possible, and such material as is available may be used. But if a substitution is made the student should be told, so he may familiarize himself with whatever kind he is using. In order that the student may have an opportunity of knowing about the tree, its characteristics, nature, function, etc., and may also have certain guiding points in its identification, the references to the supplement are given in each lesson. Students should be required to turn to this supplement and read the discussion of the particular kind of wood which they are using. This reading may be done outside of the shop period or at any other time which the teacher may dictate. It should not, however, be allowed to go by unobserved.

On this same page of each lesson will be found an "introductory statement." The purpose of the introductory statement is to help the student to realize that there is a great community problem in which he should be interested, and that the project which he is about to undertake is a means toward the solution of this problem. Any student will approach his work with greater enthusiasm, wiser judgment and consequently better educational value if he sees that it is a reality, or that it is typical of some of the activities which are going on about him. It is not the purpose of the introductory statement to do anything more than to arouse an interest by suggesting that the community problems exist, as but little space can be devoted to a general discussion of these problems. However, references are given to government bulletins, text-books, magazines and other sources of information to which the student may turn for broader information on the subject. It is urgently advised that these references be followed as far as at all possible, because they will thus unfold a vast field of practical industrial information to the students. Many of these publications can be had without expense and the others can be purchased at a reasonable price; they should therefore be secured for the library and made the nucleus of the equipment for industrial research. It will be found an excellent plan to assign various topics to different students for special reports. This will also supply material for supplementary reading and furnish themes for composition work.

The entire design of the book is not merely to set forth a few plans and drawings for the construction of shop projects, but to give the work the broadest possible application, and thus develop the most points of contact with the various industrial activities of the community.

On the second page of each lesson will be found a simple working drawing for the making of the project as shown in the photograph. These working drawings have been so constructed as to be free from unnecessary technicalities, and to leave as much latitude as possible for the exercise of the judgment of the student. In fact, it has been the effort to make the drawings absolute only in so far as the principles are concerned. On the latter portion of the page will be found "suggestions for original designs." It is not the thought that these suggestions shall cover all of the possibilities which might enter into the construction of the lesson, but they are intended to show the student opportunities and to give him different types upon which he may base his judgment for an original idea. Many teachers may choose to have their students make complete working drawings of their own. In this case it would be well to study the working drawing set forth in the lesson and discuss the various ideas given under the suggestions, pointing out very carefully just which parts will permit of variation without violation of principles. After this sort of consideration (and not before) the students might be called upon to prepare their own working drawings.

The entire spirit throughout this text is to make only absolute principles ironclad, and to leave the way open for every point which will admit of the introduction of the personality of the student. The teacher may quite frequently, particularly if he has had good training and long experience, have other methods that are just as good and possibly even better for his particular class than those set forth in the book, and in such instances he should most certainly feel at liberty to weave his own suggestions into the product of the shop. There are so many possibilities in the various lines of mechanics that no text-book can presume, nor would it be desirable to pretend, to set forth all of the possible and proper ways of doing a piece of work.

On the third page of each lesson will be found "working specifications." The purpose of these specifications is to guide the student so he will undertake his work systematically and will follow his efforts consistently. No attempt is made to show him how to perform each operation nor to "feed him with a spoon" on processes where the exercise of his own capability is most desirable. However, for each process there are references to the supplement, where there will be found, clearly set forth by halftone illustrations and simple discussion, definite methods of performing each operation. It is the idea that where a student is capable of doing the work without assistance it would be detrimental to his best progress to offer him unnecessary aid. However, it is very essential that a means of relief should be available if occasion arises where a student is in need of such help. This will be found a great assistance to the teacher who, when he finds a boy incorrectly performing any process, may simply direct him to turn to the supplement and correct his error. This will place the boy on his own resources, will develop his power of research and instill habits of self-reliance. It is needless to say that the teacher's time will be thus saved to an extent which will increase his capacity many fold. These references will apply also to the subject of tool-sharpening, wood-finishing and drawing.

There is such a wide difference of opinion regarding the relation of drawing to shop work that it is difficult for a text-book to be so prepared as to conform to the ideas of all instructors. For that reason, while throughout this book working drawings are presented, yet in the supplement considerable attention is devoted to the subject, and sufficient material is offered for the average teacher to be able to direct such work in mechanical and shop drawing as should accompany the industrial subjects in the grades for which this text is intended. There is no limit to the amount of geometric construction which may be offered in mechanical drawing work; however, in order to make this work as practical as possible, abstract problems have been reduced to the minimum and the production of shop drawings has been emphasized. It is left to the option of the teacher as to whether this drawing work is to be taken up as a separate subject and given a specific period per week, or whether it should be given as a part of the shop work and each student be required to prepare his own drawings for each project before undertaking it.

For the staining and the finishing of the models only a few suggestions are given, for it is felt that this matter should be left very largely to the taste of the student and the judgment of the teacher who best understands local conditions. Instead of giving specific instructions for the finished work on each lesson, references are made to the supplement for the kind of finish which would be appropriate. The matter of color and number of coats and fineness of polish is merely suggested and left for its final decision to the instructor in charge.

Under the heading, "Original Projects Employing Similar Principles," there will be found a number of suggestions which will furnish additional kindred work which may be utilized as local conditions suggest. There may be adept students or those who wish to work extra hours for whom these suggestions will be found quite beneficial. No attempt is made to furnish drawings or illustrations, but simply a few guiding suggestions are given for the purpose of directing the attention of the student to the principles which should be observed. For undertakings of this character it will be necessary for the students to work out their own designs and make their complete working drawings. These projects will offer possibilities for home work, for contests on outside efforts and for the making of things which may be used in school exhibits or auction sales, which are sometimes resorted to in assisting to raise money. Students should be encouraged to give considerable attention to these original projects, but care must be exercised on the part of the teacher to prevent violation of principles, and the students should be led to see that their originality must cover only such points as will admit of modification without destroying the function of the article. For illustration, in making a T-square, the shape, length, width and thickness of the head, also the dimensions of the blade, are largely matters of personal choice, but that the edges of the blade and of the head must be perfect, straight lines, and must be set at right angles are absolute principles which the originality of the maker cannot in any way modify. In almost every project there are some such absolute principles which are inviolable, and these (and these alone) are the things upon which this text endeavors to be ironclad.

The review questions and problems found at the close of each section are given as an aid to the teacher in developing the correlation between the industrial work and the other subjects, particularly with the arithmetic. These problems are not all arithmetical, however; they deal with number conception, not with the idea of presenting the problems under a classified head, as they are often found in arithmetic, but so arranged that they will test the judgment of the student and make him feel that he is dealing with real questions rather than that he is handling problems which were made only for the sake of furnishing him something to do. These problems will serve as a guide in preparing as many others as the time and needs of a particular class may dictate.

The "suggestions for community research" constitute the connecting link between the work of the shop and the activities of the home and the community. The teacher should lay great emphasis upon this work, for there is no other way by which so much community interest can be aroused as by having all of the students constantly on the alert to gather information from the activities about them and carry it into the schoolroom. Parental support can be most heartily enlisted and the good will of the community acquired by having the students enter into this co-operative plan of civic development.

The reference work indicated in this text will give the students a margin of technical information which they may impart to their parents and neighbors in return for their practical ideas and experience, and thus every factor of the community will profit by the encouragement of this research work. This movement is replete with possibilities in connection with reports and discussions in which both students and patrons might participate, in parent-teachers' clubs, farmers' institutes and other community gatherings. There is no way more sure nor more economic in making a good citizen of a boy than to develop his interests in community problems during the period of his plastic age.